The leaves may be falling, but love is in the air...

"But if I'd ever leave you, it couldn't be in Autumn. How I'd leave in Autumn I never will know. I've seen how you sparkle when Fall nips the air. I know you in Autumn. And I must be there."
-Camelot


aaahhhh...well you would think it springtime here at EDS!!! The lovebug has come to town..or should i say "K-Town"...as I affectionately call them!! We have traded our tulips for pumpkins, our cherry blossoms for changing leaves.. Yes... this blog today is all about love!
Caution Please....Adults may be reading this.....


What does Autumn and Kindergarten have in common?? Nothing, except the word, "deciduous"...
One is going thru a dying process, if you will, and the other is "waking up". Spring has sprung with my young 5 year olds and I am finding myself envious of warmer days!!

I have been amazed and rather taken aback at the outward PDA's going on all over EDS and really in K-Town. It has made me aware that we adults forget about what genuine affection is all about. It makes me remember lighter days in life when liking someone meant you needn't worry about how he/she will be received by your beau's relatives, what kind of car you own, what your outfit looks like daily, thinking a bad hair day would ruin for it you, or if this person is "the one" to change your life...nope...its all about the moment. Liking someone becuase you know the chemistry is right and it feels good. Period.

This past month, "Falling into October" has officially been changed to "Falling in Love". This has been a huge topic of discussion for our newly maturing Kindergarteners. Who knew that I would need to include this into the EDS curriculum?? Or watching it happen while delivering lessons on a Pumpkin's Anatomy...(whoops wrong choice of words).

I must say, I have forgotten what this was like and about. I am here to say that developmentally it is right on target..and again.. everything we need to know we learned in Kindergarten.

Recently,I needed to find a baby photo for our contest...and then some reminiscing took place for me. In climbing through mounds of black and whites at the family homestead I came across Kindergarten memories. My mother kept a babybook on my siblings and myself. She wrote very candidly about my experiences at a private Kindergarten, (that I have based much of my school against.) The warmest memory written was of my experience of being"kissed" on the swings by my K-town love interest...we will call him AR..(not a joke), to protect his identity. I giggled and thought...boy, I fondly remember the "pumpkin patch" at Mrs. Casey's school... I also remember the Apollo Mission landings being televised. (dating myself)..and clearly I remember our version of "Fun Friday"...holding hands and dancing to Mrs. Ottiledge bang out Farmer in the Dell on the old upright.... but I do not remember the kiss. Why? (as my K-friend John would ask me). My answer to me...is not clear. Or is it?

All this love in the air has made me aware of what "boys" out in this world should be doing all the time! (Or at least in my still-single dating world). I have seen so much in the way of gentlemanly behavior lately...I have seen help to aid our friend who was crying by offering a hug or an "at-a girl" when necessary. I have seen heavy things be wisked out of young ladies hands. I have seen assistance with coats and sweaters, doors held open, places being saved at lunchtime. I have watched boys not begin eating until their dining partner arrived after hand-washing, or mentoring in the classroom when someone has gotten a bit behind in their lesson....jsut to catch them up and make sure they had their playmate ready for recess.
I have also seen affection, ummm... real affection..that probably should be better saved for the later years...but for them, a real curiosity that I think "boys" can't seem to help themsleves on...oh well..I can't change the human race..I am only here as an observer and mentor!! But most importantly, I have witnessed boys not shy away, ignore, or "play games" with girls because they "didn't want to lead them on"... or "they can't commit". No one was asking and no one is keeping score. The genuine exchange of love and affection on boys with girls without a motive or reason to hide is truly a beautfiul thnig to watch!! Men seem to lose this quality as they grow. And why? (again).

Likewise, I have seen young ladies wait for "back up" when in distress..."seeing if their man will come to the rescue"... I have witnessed girls giving themselves the once-over in the long mirror outside of the ladies powder room. I see batting eyelashes, winks and flirting... and I have also been privvy to clear signs of emotional discontent when something is not being attended too.
(an innate chick thing for us)... I have also seen some of the sweetest displays of genuine feminine care when their brave soldiers have been injured during their recess jausting exhibitions. Equally, I have seen "at-a boys" be given freely and mentoring to those who are behind in a lesson...(so they can be swept away by an extended hand to the next EDS event.)
I have seen girls growing into women and not wondering if this boy will "dump me for her" next week. I have seen girls who are confident and sure about who they are and commanding the respect they deserve on the ladder of boy-girl relationships. They are liking a boy for who he is and not for what he will do for her!

They are not looking to get married. No one is scaring anyone at this point and no one has placed extraordinary measures of expectations. No one needs to have a baby in a timely fashion and certainly everyone is here with the same goals and that is to learn, have fun, and to treat others respectfully. That is it. That is their job. No mortgages, car payments, school loans, credit card debt, family to support, long-distance relationships, or adult problems too grave to think about. It is to just learn about themselves and the world around them... Of course it would be far easier to find and sustain interest in the opposite sex without all of the world's pressures heaped upon us. again... aah..to be 5! I am envious of their lives sometimes.

I have seen jealousy and contentment.... love and playfulness. I have seen whispering gals and giggly guys when, "they all know what the real deal is"... AND I DON'T! Could the John McCain children's story possibly be thaaaat good??? Hardly. They are experiencing a normal surge of hormones right now that prompts them to look outside of their bodies..(literally). They will undergo a year of transformation in their physical and emotional lives from now unitl about 6-6.5...and then it happens..."boys will have cooties".... "girls will be yucky". Their hormones will shut down for awhile so they can become readers and mathematicians. Chemists and artists. They "lose" touch with God for awhile and stop hugging us, never mind each other. It must be part of the plan. The feelings and hormones will surge again in about 6 years or so, but in a more guarded resonance then what took place back in K-town. Its miserable to think about actually. Life and love will become more about judgement and restrictions. Bummer.

Yet for now...what I do observe is that peace and love, contentment, and being liked are all necessary and healthy components for ALL of us AT ANY AGE! It gets us to want to try harder! Affection from the opposite sex pushes and prods us to try new things with confidence. In being 5 they could care less about an outcome...a future anyway..because they are truly living for today in this moment! This is exactly how we all should be living. This is what I have learned about being a Kindergartener in love.

Affectionately Yours,
Miss Dawn, Director EDS